Senate Summons Minister Of Finance And CBN Governor

Nigeria’s Senate is summoning the Minister of Finance Mrs
Kemi Adeosun and the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr Godwin
Emefiele, to brief lawmakers on the monetary and fiscal policies adopted
to salvage the economy from impending recession.

At plenary on Wednesday, Senator Bassey Akpan, drew the attention of
lawmakers to a report from the National Bureau of Statistics which
stated that the Nigerian economy had plunged into a recession.

Full Blown Economic Recession

Reeling out further information about the nation’s economic
situation, he said unemployment rate rose to 12.1 per cent in the first
quarter of 2016 from 10.4 per cent in the last quarter of 2015.

“This Senate is further deeply worried that the continued complacency
of the current economy, if allowed unchecked, would set the tune for a
full blown economic recession by the end of June,” he stressed.

Senator Akpan said the declining Gross Domestic Product and high
inflation rate clearly showed that the country’s economic policies
required an urgent review to avoid a further plunge in the economy.

He also pointed out that his position was confirmed by the Central
Bank of Nigeria in its Monetary Policy Committee meeting of Tuesday.

Senator Akpan then told the Senate that it was their responsibility
to invite the Minister of Finance and the CBN Governor to brief the
Senate.

He pointed out that the briefing would enable them agree on the
modalities that would be deployed to salvage the economy of the oil rich
nation.

After the lawmaker’s statements, the Senate decided to invite the duo to brief them.

The Central Bank had on Tuesday said it would introduce a flexible
foreign exchange rate policy that will allow the bank retain a small
portion of foreign exchange for critical transactions.

Addressing journalists on Tuesday at the end of the Monetary Policy Committee meeting in Abuja, the Central Bank Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, said that the details of the new policy would be released in coming days.